phi phi - finding leo - day 19

disclaimer: this post was written almost 3 years after the fact due to the author's laziness/enchantment with his last few days in thailand.

i woke early to hike over to the dive shop. i head to the main port and climb on deck with a frenchman named jeremy. we exchange stories over coffee and i meet my dive partner achim, who is from germany.

there isn't a cloud in the sky as the boat cruises through kohs and the sapphire water almost seems artificial. we dive near the famous beach and gaze upon lionfish, pufferfish, and even an octopus. the visibility is perfect; 30 meters and water temperature must be almost 80 degrees, but at times i'm fighting a strong tide. 

i notice some strange tattoos on achim and debate asking him about them, despite his easy going and pleasant personality, the tattoos are a little menacing. we surface and after asking achim about nightlife, i inquire about his ink. he tells me they catalog an unfortunate trip he took to the us where he wasn't allowed entry and we talk about the strict customs process.

the boat drops near maya bay, where jeremy and i swim to shore. as i'm cranking with my fins underwater, i see a piece of garbage and snatch it, stuffing it in my pocket. after climbing up a terrifying rope net where the tide tosses you onto a craggy cliff, i pull out the garbage to find out it's thai currency. it's about $50 us!

jeremy and i clamber through a brief stretch of jungle and we find ourself here:

maya bay is absolutely as pristine as in the movie, albeit 100x more people are cluttering the beach. the glowing white sand and turquoise waves peek out from the masses. long tail boats choke the entrance of the bay and people are posing everywhere. there isn't a ton to see, almost no wild life, so despite the breathtaking scene, jeremy and myself snap a few photos of each other and we head back to the boat. i vow to return later.

the second dive is about the same, although there are quite a bit more fish. i was understanding we may run into nurse sharks, but sadly they were somewhere else (maybe scaring folks in maya bay?). i am able to scuba for over an hour, effectively doubling my early dives. the trick of controlling breathing is about deep regular breaths. the dive flys by and before i know it we are surfacing and heading back to the marina. i bid goodbye to achim and give him the money i found floating and he thanks me profusely. 

it is almost noon, (diving early really makes the most of the day), and while walking back to the hotel, i decide i must give maya bay a second chance. there is a tour which offers snorkeling, kayaking, and dinner for about $15 and i buy a ticket. i end up getting back to my place for about an hour and saunter back to the marina.

the guide meets me with a couple which looks to be an older english man and a young looking thai lady. i decide if no one else shows up, i will ditch the trip out of the awkward situation. fortunately for me, there are a ton of canadians on the boat when we arrive and they prove to be lots of fun. we snorkle near the marina, where the captain throws food into the water and the fish swarm us. i wasn't entirely assured they could tell us from the edible bits we were swimming in. then we went kayaking through some kohs, i strayed from the pack so at times all i heard was the noise from the animals and my paddle dipping into the glowing water. we then headed back to maya bay and my instincts had proved correct. there were a fraction of the people lingering and only a couple of boats. i waded, taking in the marvel as the sun sunk lower. i bid adieu to the the beach and headed back to the ship for food.

there was a plethora of amazing curries to sample and i tried them all. chatting with the canadians was entertaining and we even took some group photos heading back with one of the most beautiful sunsets i've seen in my lifetime. evidence:

i went back out for the mini fullmoon experience at dalum. i met these two danish ladies and we decided to tip buckets together. fire dancers and house music encompassed us as the waves lapped gently behind us.

i bid the ladies farewell at the beach, as a sly aussie swept my target and i headed home. i passed by a tattoo shop where i heard a pleasant six string sound and i bought some beers to sit down and exchange music and stories with the locals. after i'd had my fill of both, i said goodnight and walked through the field back to my hotel alone. the moon bathed everything in a tempered light which countered the balmy, heavy air.

i succumbed to my weariness looking out my patio feeling as i'd seized the day.

got to go phi phi, day 18

phuket, like street food, was hard for me to digest. thankfully, i'm rinsing my palette and taking in koh phi phi as an aperitif.

uncannily, i beat the wake up call by 53 seconds and shoved my belongings into jay's pack. the bus was a whole 15 minutes late and i was given the coveted front seat again. it was relatively easy, even if it did take 45 minutes to get across the island, but traffic is truly a different beast over in s.e.a. groggily, i walk to the 'cruising boat' and realized i was following my friend gabi, who i met at the full moon party. small world indeed. she had a different perception of patong, but then again, she didn't venture down the strip at night.

i always find time flies when i'm chatting with someone, especially when they provide interesting content/stories. for those of you who know me, i can be a bit of a chatterbox at times (understatement, i'm sure). we cruise across the ocean and hover around some kohs, but the weather isn't smiling on us. it doesn't mute the beauty of the islands though, fortunately. by the time we arrive, it's amidst a torrential downpour and people are getting antsy to disembark, like cattle they are pushing and shoving to get nowhere. i find my resort's sign, say tchau to gabi and wait for 10 minutes for the greeter to ensure no one else needs transportation. i get a private water taxi, (long tail boat), all to myself.

the resort is pretty nice, maybe not exactly the honeymoon suite i got in samui, but cozy none the less:

i can't stay 2 nights with my flight standing, so i called bangkok airways and it was surprisingly easy (and free!) to change my flight. as i walk from my beach, (long beach, they call it), towards the second beach (loh dalum), i see a couple of dive companies between tattoo parlors restaurants. i choose viking divers because they seem really knowledgeable and friendly and their mascot is a viking! i then walk around on dalum taking in the majestic view of a shallow bay with mountains hugging the coastline. you can literally walk out 2 miles and still not be up to your waist in water. the beach scene is pretty chill at 2pm, so i took a hike up to the lookout points, which lived up to the description in lonely planet. after the climb to the lookout point hike in ang thong national park, i really won't ever complain about a 'hike' again. the viewpoint is beautiful and showcases both beaches, giving me a scene similar to the 'trombolo effect' i saw in kauai, where you can lie in a spot and have waves crash on both sides of you.

i'm accosted by monkeys on the way down the hill. at first they seem friendly, but then one starts shrieking and running at me like that movie outbreak. for a diversionary tactic, i throw some peanut candy in the opposite direction and rush down the stairs and head back to the hotel to drop off gear. my beach is flush with speedboats and longtail boats, not quite as pristine for beach lounging like loh dalum.

i meet my friend todd from florida for the second time on the beach and plot my night. there's a bar run by 'a' who i met while he was playing a horribly tuned guitar, it's called carpe diem, (appropriately) and then some clubs on dalum.

i make it out to carpe diem, which is absolutely dead; carpe diem, indeed. i enjoy a strong tropical drink and sit looking out into the darkness and the sound of the surf, as my drink diminishes. i get up and head to dalum, and find myself in the middle of monsoon rain. i take cover at a bucket stand and meet some aussies who are looking into street drink specials. we meander down the strip to the bars on the beach, which seem to aspire to the full moon party.

i bid my new friends farewell, and made my way back across the narrow strip back to my bungalow for the night. tomorrow, i will dive near the famous beach from the film 'the beach'!